


You Have Bewitched Me, Body and Soul, and I Love, I Love, I Love You

by Storyofmythigh



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Blow Jobs, M/M, Past Zayn Malik/Harry Styles, Shy Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:08:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storyofmythigh/pseuds/Storyofmythigh
Summary: Harry is quiet. Louis isn’t.Louis hates reading. Harry loves words. They find a way.





	

Louis’ been at his new school for a few weeks now, but this is his first time actually noticing the angel in his literature class. They’re the last two without partners for the group work, dooming them to give a presentation together in a few weeks’ time. Louis pushes a desk over, while the boy with the cherubic face and fairy curls awkwardly moves his bag out of the way.

“’m Louis. I don’t think we’ve met properly.”

The pretty boy looks down, shy. “Harry.” His voice is small. He’s scribbling a mess into the margins of his notebook.

“Cool. Well, how do we want to do this?”

“Um, I actually don’t mind to…to just do it. If you’ll do all the talking when we have to present in front of the class, I don’t mind.” Harry’s cheeks heat up as he talks, giving him a warm glow and making him look younger.

Louis' taken aback by this. “I can’t make you do all the work, mate. I have no problem presenting it, but I’d feel too bad making you do everything else.”

“I don’t mind. Really.”

Louis sits for a moment, trying to figure out how to convince this new person that he really won’t just slack off and push all of the work onto him.

“You could do most of the work, if you’d really like. But at least let me be there for some of the process, so you can explain it to me. Might help my grade a bit, anyway.”

Harry shrugs. “Okay.” He looks like he’s trying not to shrink in on himself.

Louis feels the need to talk when Harry doesn’t, to fill the space between them. “To be completely honest, I haven’t done any of the reading from the book so far. Not even online summaries. Have you?”

Harry nods slowly.

“Any idea what it’s about?”

Harry stares at Louis, looking a little dumbfounded. “It’s…Louis, the book is Frankenstein.”

“I know what _happens,_ mostly. I know that an evil doctor brings Frankenstein to life. Just like, the rest of it is what I haven’t quite gotten to.” 

Harry presses a finger to his temple, looking away from Louis, agitated. "Okay, first of all, the doctor's name is Frankenstein, not the monster's. He doesn't really have a name, but it's unofficially Adam. Frankenstein creates his body and then brings him to life and spends the rest of his life regretting it. It's about playing God and valuing one life over another and...what?"

Louis' smiling. Harry's confused, and a little unsure of himself now that he's realized how much he just said. 

"I didn't think I'd get you to say that much. Must have really pissed you off."

Harry forces his face to relax to a less serious expression, now even more determined to shut up so he doesn't embarrass himself in front of Louis. His lack of verbal reply disappoints Louis, who'd been hoping to connect with this new pretty (and mysterious) boy. Hoping to catch more glimpses of the sparks in his eyes as he spoke, hoping to watch his lush lips form and release words, hoping to get him to  _talk_ to Louis. 

Oh well. The presentation isn't for another few weeks. Surely he'll make some progress by then.

 

***

 

He hasn't made much progress at the end of the first week. He and Harry have met twice outside of class to work, just for an hour in the library after school let out. That had been a very quiet hour, but Harry'd seemed more comfortable in the inherently quiet environment. He whispered to Louis from time to time as he typed out notes to go over in their project, even answering Louis' stupid questions without seeming annoyed. Maybe when they first met in class, it had just been an off day for Harry. Still, he's more polite and friendly than open and fully approachable. Louis' used to easily making friends with people. If it doesn't happen quickly and naturally, he generally stops talking to that person. Something about Harry is different, though.

1) He needs to keep talking to him, for the sake of the presentation and

2) He actually wants to know more about Harry.

He's genuinely intrigued. Even when Harry gets annoyed with him for pushing him, he wants to ask about the traces of color and glitter on his fingernails. He wants to know about the beat-up book that he always sees in Harry's bag. He wants to see the rest of the fishtail tattoo peeking out from under his sleeves. With anyone else, he would have asked the moment the curiosity touched his thoughts. With Harry, though, he thinks he's just starting to get a feel for how to handle him. Harry doesn't talk about himself, offers up hardly any personal information, other than letting Louis know when he's free. Louis thinks he's probably the type that needs to get comfortable with someone before he starts to close the distance between them. Maybe Harry needs to feel in control of how he presents himself and how much he lets people know, so random questions would make him close up and back off immediately. 

Louis starts to figure all of this out when he asks Harry what he's doing for the weekend. Harry mumbles something about being free Sunday night, so Louis asks what he's going to be up to on Saturday. 

"I'm busy."

"Right, okay. Busy with what?"

"What do you care?" Harry's weirdly defensive. It was an easy question. It was a  _normal_ question. 

"I was just curious, Harry. What could you possibly be doing that you need to keep secret?"

"I don't  _need_ to keep it secret."

"Then what is it?"

Harry rolls his eyes, scribbling into his notebook the whole time Louis pesters him. Maybe it grounds him, Louis thinks. Maybe talking makes him nervous.

"Nothing."

"This is a whole lot of fuss over 'nothing.'"

Harry huffs and scribbles darker. "I'm going out with a friend, okay? He's getting a tattoo done."

Louis raises his eyebrows, mock-impressed. "That's pretty badass, Harry. I see why you didn't want to tell me."

Louis isn't really too surprised when Harry gathers his things and leaves. Still, any reaction, even an irritated one, is better than distant silence. 

 

***

 

The second week goes a little better. Louis thinks it's mostly because they've spent more time together, so Harry's getting used to him. When Louis pushes him, he doesn't push back quite so hard.

They sit together in class now. Louis' reminded of questions he has when he's distracted, again, from the fishtail on Harry's arm, leading up under his sleeve, promising more.

"What did your mate get done this weekend?"

Harry doesn't look up from his notebook. "Some writing on his collarbones."

Louis' too antsy to hold back, pent up with impatience. "What's your tattoo?"

Harry looks up, not seeming very surprised by the statement. "Which one?" he asks smoothly. 

There's more than one. Louis suddenly has a  _lot_ of questions. 

"The fish one."

Harry looks mildly confused for a minute before looking down at himself, smiling when he realizes what Louis means. He pulls his sleeve up more, revealing the rest of the ink. 

"She's a mermaid."

Louis admires her, not unhappy about the opportunity to move closer to Harry. "She's pretty."

Harry's cheeks flame. He pulls his sleeve back down. "Thank you." They're quiet for a moment, flipping through their books in the case of a pop quiz.

Then Harry asks Louis a question.

"Do you have any?"

Louis looks up, pleasantly surprised by the question. "Yeah, I do." He pulls up his sleeve, revealing the littering of ink on his arm. "Most of them are pretty stupid, but I like them."

Harry leans over to look, briefly brushing his fingers over the skin as he studies the compass. He pulls back when he realizes he touched, apparently not having intended to do so. Louis' skin burns where Harry's fingers traced over it. He pulls his sleeve down again as both boys blush, slightly flustered by the interaction. 

Harry clears his throat, goes back to his book, but he's not focusing.

"I don't think they're stupid," he says eventually.

Louis' voice comes out much quieter than he means it to when he responds with a simple, "Thank you."

 

***

 

It gets easier after that. The next week goes by more smoothly. Louis' learning what boundaries to respect, and he's figuring out the best ways to get Harry to open up a little and actually talk to him, rather than burying himself in their project. Harry's becoming more comfortable around Louis, letting little things about himself slip out from time to time. Louis learns that Harry has an older sister, Gemma, who's away at uni. Harry works in his mum's bakery on the weekends. The friend that Harry spends time with on the weekends is Zayn. He goes to a different school. 

Louis finds himself so entranced by Harry that he's even talking about him to his friends, to their amusement. Liam quietly teases Louis about it, but Niall openly pokes fun at his interest in the boy.

"Haven't seen you actually have a crush on someone  _ever_ , Lou. D'you think it'll be a serious relationship? Will you take his last name?"

Louis grins back at the teasing. "You're just jealous that someone else is getting all my attention, Nialler."

Niall pouts exaggeratedly. "That's not true. He can't possibly be enough to make you forget me."

Louis rolls his eyes. "Of course. Never."

Liam, without taking his eyes off of his phone, says, "You should invite him out sometime."

Louis considers this briefly. "Maybe. Dunno. He's pretty quiet, I don't know what he's up for." 

"Invite him to Perrie's this weekend. There'll be people and drinks, but it'll be pretty chill."

"Maybe." 

He thinks over it throughout the day, wondering what Harry would say. It wouldn't be the first time they saw each other outside of school. They'd met over the weekend at a coffee shop to work, but had ended up talking more than working. Well, Louis talked. Harry listened and scribbled in his notebook, as always. He'd added a few comments when prompted, but mostly stayed silent, listening to Louis talk about theatre, his sisters, his loathing for school. 

He isn't sure he's going to mention it at all, but somehow, it comes out without him even realizing it. Harry looks surprised to be invited somewhere.

"Perrie Edwards?"

Louis nods. "Yeah. Blonde, sings in the choir. Lots of solos." 

Harry grins like there's a joke Louis doesn't get. "I know Perrie. She and Zayn used to date."

Louis' worried suddenly. "Oh. Did it end bad?"

Harry smiles easily, shaking his head. "No, they're still close friends. I know her well enough. She actually invited us this weekend."

"What did you tell her?"

Harry looks down, looking a little sad, but the faint smile stays on his face. "I always tell her maybe, and then I never go." 

Louis tries not to show his disappointment. "Oh, okay."

Harry looks up at him. "But maybe I'll actually go this time. I'll make Zayn go with me." 

Louis tries to not let his face betray how excited he is, but he's pretty sure it shows anyway. 

 

***

 

"I've never seen you this worked up over a boy, Haz," Zayn teases lovingly. 

Harry's cheeks flush. "I'm not all worked up over anyone. I just think maybe it'd be cool to go, for once." 

"Harry." The look on Zayn's face says he's not at all fooled. "You hate going out."

"That's not true."

"Okay, you hate going out if there's more than three people involved." 

"I can't really argue with that." He pouts a little as Zayn drives. "But I still want to go." 

"Okay, we'll go. But the moment you don't want to be there anymore, you have to promise to tell me. I'll leave with you. I don't want you to stay and have a miserable night, or go home alone late." 

"Alright." 

Zayn looks over and smiles. "Hey. I'm really happy for you."

"Why?"

Harry knows why. He knows that he's awkward and too quiet and people don't usually like him. It's hard for him to make friends. It's hard to let people close to him. He's always been like this. It's made his life a little tricky, socially. It's miraculous to think that he might have a new friend, especially one that he  _likes._

Zayn doesn't say any of this, though. He just looks back at the road, still smiling, and says, "I just am."

 

***

 

Zayn and Harry aren't there yet when Louis, Liam, and Niall arrive. Niall latches onto Barbara almost immediately, going off with her to do/drink god-knows-what. Liam and Louis find Perrie easily enough, stopping for a quick chat with her. Louis knows Perrie decently well. The choir and theatre work closely together at times. Liam somehow knows everyone, Perrie included. Or rather, they know him. Those are the consequences of being the star of the rugby team. 

The night progresses, and suddenly, Harry's there. So is Zayn, technically, but Louis doesn't notice that as much. Although, he does notice Liam noticing Zayn. Good. He'll have something to tease Liam with. Maybe he'll start leaving Louis alone about Harry.

Right. Harry.

Harry looks gorgeous, his curls pushed back behind his ear. He looks warm and comfortable in a dark pullover and tight jeans. Louis realizes he hasn't ever properly seen him without schoolwork being involved. Without a bag on his back and a notebook under his hand acting as a security blanket, Harry's taller. Hotter.

Louis likes it a little too much. 

"Hey, Lou." Lou. It's the first time Harry's called him that. Louis can't tell if he's being funny or not.

"Harry." 

"This is a little bigger than I expected."

Louis looks around and realizes that yes, quite a lot more people had showed up than expected. It's been getting progressively louder throughout the evening so far. Nothing crazy, but definitely not as 'chill' as Harry was promised.

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

Harry shakes his head, wrinkles his nose. "No, probably not for a while. I promised Zayn I'd give it an honest try."

Louis nods. Zayn. "I'm glad."

"Are you?" Harry's smiling. Is he teasing Louis? 

Niall appears out of nowhere before he can answer. "Lou, Liam's-" He cuts himself off, noticing Harry. "Hey, mate. You're Harry right?" 

Harry nods delicately.

"You're the one Louis won't shut up about! I can see why, Christ-"

Louis cuts Niall off hurriedly. "Niall. What about Liam?"

"You need to come see." 

Louis looks at Harry apologetically. "I'll be right back? Unless you want to come with and see whatever Niall's so interested in."

Harry shakes his head. "That's alright, I'll see if I can find Zayn."

It turns out that Harry should have just come with them, because what Niall had so desperately wanted Louis to see was the impossibly gorgeous boy Liam was trying to flirt with in the kitchen. It actually seems to be going pretty well, judging from the glint in Zayn's eye and how he can't really fight back his grin. Louis makes Niall leave them be, dragging him back out with the others. He can't find Harry, though.

As it turns out, Louis spends most of the night looking for Harry. He talks to people from school and tries to keep Niall from accidentally sabotaging Liam's chances with Zayn, and he looks for Harry. It's not until quite some time later, when he steps outside to get some fresh air, that he finds him. Harry's on the back porch steps, scrolling through his phone. He looks content, but Louis' sad for him that he has to come outside, apart from everyone else, to be comfortable.

He sits next to Harry, surprising him a little. "Been out here very long?"

Harry looks at the clock on his phone. "Not too long, actually. Just needed a break." 

Louis looks at him with doubt in his eyes. Harry looks down, admitting, "Yeah, alright. I've been out here almost two hours."

"Wish I'd known. I've been looking for you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." 

Harry tries not to look too pleased at that. They sit in the quiet night together for a few moments, enjoying the peace contrasting with what's turned into quite an event inside. 

Louis starts to say something, but Harry beats him to it. "Speak only if it improves upon the silence."

Louis can't help but to grin. "I should have guessed you'd know I wasn't going to say anything worth shit. Is that a quote? What book is that from?"

Harry laughs a little at Louis' question. "It's Gandhi." 

"Oh. Oops." He tries to recover from his mistake. "You just seem like someone who'd quote literature outside at a party." 

Harry thinks for a minute, looking amused by Louis, before parting his (lush, pink, soft) lips and saying, "There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand." 

"What's that from?"

Harry's face falls inexplicably. "Nothing."

"No, really, what is it?"

"It's Frankenstein, Louis." 

"Oh." Louis' a little ashamed. "I guess it's obvious that I still haven't done the reading, then."

Harry shrugs, goes back to being quiet. 

"So...I think Zayn and Liam have hit it off." 

"I know. It's why I haven't left yet. Zayn's my ride." 

"Oh." Louis waits a beat, considering what he's about to offer. "I could drive you home, if you'd like."

Harry shakes his head. "It's okay, you've still got friends here."

"Yeah, but they're all off with other people. I was thinking of leaving soon anyway," Louis lies. His friends  _are_ off with other people, but he was going to just wait it out to see how the rest of his night here would go.

But really, if Harry leaves, he loses interest in the party. 

"Well, if you were leaving anyway...you're sure it's okay?"

"Yes, Harry. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure." 

"Alright, then."

 

***

 

Harry seems decidedly at ease in the passenger seat of Louis' car. So at ease, in fact, that he doesn't bother staying quiet when Louis starts a conversation.

"So I bet I can guess why Zayn and Perrie broke up."

Harry laughs, filling the car with his deep giggles. "He might have figured out that he was interested elsewhere. Liam Payne, though, that's like a dream come true for him."

"Really? How does he even know who Liam is?"

Harry looks at Louis like he's crazy. "The best of the rugby team, maybe? Zayn goes to art school, but he isn't socially clueless."

"Well, if the way Liam was making a fool out of himself was any indication, I think Zayn has a pretty good chance with him."

Harry looks a little sad at that. "Yeah, I suppose." 

"That not a good thing?"

Harry looks out the window, turning his face slightly away from Louis. "No, it is good. I just...Most of my friends are already away at uni. Zayn's pretty much the only one left. If he starts dating someone again, he'll be too busy. That's all."

"Too busy for you, you mean?"

Harry doesn't answer out loud, just shrugs. 

"I very much doubt that he'd completely abandon you. And anyway, if he does, you can hang out with me, because Liam'll probably be busy as well."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You'll probably have to deal with Niall, too. He's a bit of a mess, but he's mostly a harmless mess."

Harry shakes his head. "Niall's not a mess. He's sunshine."

Louis likes that. He really really likes that, in a way that surprises him. He's not sure if it's that Harry approves of his friend, or if it's the way he worded it and how it acknowledged the 'something magical' aspect of Niall. 

But he doesn't know how to be normal and just say that he liked it, so he resorts to teasing, because it's how he knows to talk. "Sunshine, hm? That's beautiful, really."

Harry blushes a deep pink. "I might've had a few drinks. My brain-to-mouth filter isn't quite as functional as it normally is." 

Louis hates that he made Harry feel embarrassed. "No, I meant it. It's lovely. Niall would probably kiss you if he heard you say it, and he isn't even a little gay."

Harry smiles, but doesn't say anything back, apparently rattled by his own sunshine comment.

Louis keeps driving. Harry'd never given him an address, and he hasn't asked for one. Neither of them acknowledges it, silently agreeing to spend more time together, apart from everyone else. 

"What're you always doing in your notebooks?"

Harry's answer comes easily. Louis thought he'd have to fight to get one. 

"Writing."

"What do you write?"

"Words." 

"Any particular type of words?"

Harry shakes his head. "No. Just words. I like them." 

"Any favorites?"

Harry thinks about it for a moment. "Decadent. Infelicitous. Cadence. Perspire." 

"Those are some fancy words."

He's jokes, looks over to make sure Harry knows he's not trying to be mean.

Harry's not looking at him, but he smiles. "Fuck."

Louis snorts laughing. "Really, Haz?" 

Haz. He didn't mean to say it. He'd heard Zayn say it earlier, and he'd liked it. It just kind of stuck in his mind, and then slipped out without his permission.

Harry looks over then, a soft expression on his pretty face. "I like that." 

Louis likes it too.

 

***

 

They give their presentation on Frankenstein, finally, but they don't stop talking after it. The night of the party helped loads. Harry's still quieter when there's other people around, but when it's just him and Louis, and sometimes Zayn, Niall, Liam, he doesn't hold back nearly as much, joining in on jokes, offering opinions, volunteering simple information, like how his day went.

Louis likes it quite a lot. He feels more balanced around Harry, feels like he's allowed to treat him normally. Well, not  _normally,_ because Louis would climb the stars for Harry and bring him the moon, if he wanted. But he doesn't feel like he has to tiptoe around him anymore. He doesn't have him figured out, exactly, but he thinks he's starting to get there now that he's actually allowed to get to know him. 

The Zayn/Liam situation helps more than he expected. Zayn's around a lot, so Harry's also around a lot, more than he would normally be. Zayn's cool, fitting in easily wherever he goes, it seems. Louis sees why someone like Harry would be friends with someone like Zayn. His adaptability seems to help Harry's uneasiness around new people, even when he's not directly doing anything about it. Harry'd taken to Liam and Niall quickly, going so far as to bring Niall a cupcake (with an icing sun-he'd winked at Louis like they had a secret) on his birthday. Niall'd nearly knocked him over with a hug. Louis wanted to scold him, but then he saw Harry was smiling and laughing, not shrinking back. 

Maybe Louis needs to worry less about Harry being fragile. Because he's not, really. He's just a bit slow to warm up. Louis just wants to make sure he doesn't feel uncomfortable or out of place with his friends. 

Harry seems to be okay with all of it, though. He still tends to let other people talk first, and to listen more than actually participate in conversation, but it's okay. He isn't scribbling into his notebook constantly, and he doesn't always look like he'd rather be anywhere else. Not even when it's just him and Louis. He's making more eye contact, doesn't seem so afraid to interrupt Louis or to call him out when he's bullshitting. Louis thinks Harry might even be flirting, a little, but it's so subtle that he can't be sure. He hopes he is. 

So, progress. Good progress. It's all good. Louis is good. Louis thinks he's keeping up with how everything is going, but he's caught off guard when Harry suggests they go to a concert together. 

"It's not really a concert, exactly. My friend's playing a show in London over the weekend. Thought it might be cool."

"Um, sure. Sounds cool."

Harry's face falls a little. "We don't have to, or anything. It's kind of dumb." 

Louis' quick to reassure him, to put the hopeful look back on his face. "No, it really does sound cool. I haven't been to London in a while. Is your friend any good?"

Harry's relieved, smiles a little. "Yeah, he's pretty good. Getting better. I haven't seen him play in forever." He looks like he said more than he meant to. Louis doesn't acknowledge it. 

"I'm sold, then."

Harry smiles gleefully. "Great. The others already said they're in. My sister's got a flat in London, we could stay the night." 

Louis loves seeing him this excited. "Can't wait."

 

***

 

They drive up in Zayn's car, because it's slightly bigger than Liam's or Louis'. Liam sits up front with Zayn, while Harry, Louis, and Niall cram in the back. Louis' in the middle, not unhappy with the way Niall keeps accidentally shoving him closer to Harry. Harry doesn't look unhappy about it either, if the smiles and sparkling eyes are anything to go by.

Harry's friend, Ed, sounds amazing. He'd apparently already made a name for himself in London, judging from the crowd he brings in. The boys stand somewhere near the middle. Zayn and Liam talk together throughout the set, not seeming to be at all aware that anyone else is around them. Louis and Harry stand pressed close, Harry watching Ed and clapping loudly for him after each song, beaming proudly. Louis pays attention to the music, but also to Harry. He can hardly take his eyes off of him. Only during one song does he indulge Niall, who'd been grumbling about being fifth wheel, and go to the bar for a drink with him, only to lose him to a brunette who loves his accent. Louis rolls his eyes when Niall completely forgets about him, abandoning the bar to find Harry again. He's more than shocked when he spies him again, and he sees tears falling down his cheeks, staring at the stage, completely entranced. They're small, slow tears. Louis probably wouldn't have even noticed, had he not been actively looking for Harry.

He nudges Harry when he's back at his side. "Y'alright?"

Harry nods, pressing his finger to his lips to tell Louis to shut up. Ed finishes the song, going immediately into another one, a more lively one. Harry wipes at his cheeks and pretends it hadn't happened. Louis makes himself leave Harry alone about it, at least for the time being. 

Later that night, though, after they'd all gone out with Ed and Harry's sister, Gemma, he can't stop thinking about it. They're at Gemma's flat for the night. Liam and Zayn are still wrapped up in heavy-duty flirting, and Harry and Gemma are in the kitchen, catching up with each other. This leaves Louis with Niall, who only really wants to prove that he can score higher than Louis on piano tiles. It kept them occupied long enough, but eventually, Louis gets bored of the game and the banter. He starts to pester Liam, trying to distract him from Zayn's (admittedly captivating) face. Niall quickly joins in, and it flusters Liam enough that he suggests that he and Zayn go for a walk, stressing that it would be just the two of them. Niall and Louis pout together in the lounge, completely and utterly abandoned.

Harry walks in from the kitchen, followed by Gemma. He looks relaxed in a way Louis' never seen before, comfy in sleep pants and one of Gemma's university pullovers, an amused smile lazily pulling at his lips. "How'd you two manage to chase them off?"

"We were only trying to include them!" Niall protests. 

Gemma laughs, heading back into the kitchen, telling Harry she's taking cookies out of the oven to cool. Niall jumps up and follows her with no hesitation, fully distracted by the idea of food. 

Harry grins at Louis. "He seems happy."

"I don't think he knows any other emotion." 

Harry sits by Louis on the floor, leaning against an armchair. "Enjoying your night so far?"

Louis nods. "Love a good chance to irritate Liam, especially in front of someone he's trying to impress." He pauses. "Ed was amazing."

"He's going to make it big some day." Harry sounds absolutely sure of this. 

Louis can't help but to go straight for the direct question. "What was wrong earlier?"

Harry shakes his head. "Nothing, really. Got a bit wrapped up in the lyrics."

Louis feels like it's important to ask. "Which ones?"

"It's silly."

"Haz."

Harry looks up from where he was fidgeting with his sleeve, sighing and giving in. "London calls me a stranger, this is not my home." 

That wasn't what Louis was expecting. "Why those lyrics?"

Harry makes eye contact with Louis for the first time since he sat down. "I never feel at home." His voice cracks just once. 

For someone who asks so many direct questions, Louis doesn't know what to do with a direct answer. "Harry..."

Harry shakes his head. "Don't want to talk about it." 

Louis doesn't want to let it go, though. "You can't just say something like that and not expect me to ask about it."

Harry shrugs, clearly feeling uneasy. "I don't like being out or talking to a lot of different people much. You get that, right?" Louis nods. "It takes me forever to get used to a new place and new people, even just to a new class. I'm so awkward with everything, and I really don't like change. I like to keep everything the way it is, because I already know what to do with it." Louis thinks he follows, but he's not sure. "But the world keeps going on around me and I can't stop it. Nothing ever feels  _right._ "

"Nothing?" Louis feels guilty, because he's a new person in Harry's life, probably complicating things more than they ever had to be. He could have left their interaction to only what was necessary for their project. He didn't have to pressure Harry into hanging out with him, into talking more than he wanted. He didn't have to bring more people into his life, to get him to go to a party that he didn't like. 

"Okay, not nothing. I'm exaggerating. Some of it's okay, but it's all so stressful. I just wish I were the type of person who was able to handle everything more easily."

"Is that what your notebook is for?" Again with the direct questions. Louis mentally reprimands himself. He doesn't mean to push Harry even further than he already has. He's surprised that he keeps answering. 

"Sort of. It's more what my books are for." The battered books Harry keeps in his bag. Louis eventually realized it wasn't the same book every day. "They're somewhere I can go and not feel out of place." 

"What books?"

"They're just some of my favorites. It's stupid."

"It's not stupid at all. Which one's your favorite?" 

Harry looks up at the ceiling. "It's such a cliche. I can't say it."

"Yes you can. Pleeeease?" Harry side-eyes Louis. 

"I don't know..."

"Come on, I promise not to tease." Louis means it.

"Alright, fine. Pride and Prejudice," Harry admits. It really is such a cliche, but Louis keeps his promise to not make fun of him for it. "I don't know, I just love the language and the characters." Harry's voice moves slowly as he talks, but Louis still hangs onto every word. "It's a beautiful story every time, no matter how many times I read it." He bites his lip. "Never mind. Forget I said any of that. It's stupid."

"It isn't, Harry. There's nothing wrong with it at all." 

Harry's still clearly bothered that he said any of it. "If you say so. I'm done talking about it." Louis doesn't press him further this time, seeing how shaken Harry is by their conversation. 

Harry shares his sister's bed that night. Ziam take the sofa, insisting it's not too small for both of them (even though it very obviously is). Louis sleeps on the floor next to Niall, trying to ignore his snores and the sounds of Zayn and Liam whispering to each other throughout the night. He can't stop thinking about everything that Harry told him, how he would have listened to Harry talk all night, given the opportunity. 

He feels like he's constantly trying to get closer to Harry, and Harry keeps finding ways to trick him into thinking that's what he's doing, even though he's actually not learning that much about him. He wants to know everything that Harry likes, what he dislikes, what he dreams of. He wants to be someone who stays a part of his life, not just someone he made friends with in school for a while. He just doesn't know how to make it happen. 

Louis falls asleep with Harry's words running through his head.

 

***

 

Harry's careful around Louis for a few days after the weekend, but then he seems to relax again. They, with Niall, take Zayn to Liam's rugby meet at the end of the school week. Zayn acts completely unfazed through the match, leaving the cheering to Niall and Louis. After their team wins, though, and Liam waves to them in the stands, clearly excited to see them, Zayn can't help but to break into an earnest grin. The smallest expression is momentous on his calm complexion. Louis sees how he gets along with Harry. 

Liam declines going out with the team to celebrate after they've showered and changed, instead meeting the boys in the parking lot. 

"D'you think we did alright?"

Louis scoffs, completely prepared to torment Liam as always. He doesn't get time, though, before Zayn and Liam are very suddenly attached at the mouth. Niall cheers, trying to bother them despite the fact that they seem to be unaware of anything but each other. Harry looks as flabbergasted as Louis feels. They make eye contact over the spectacle. They hold their gaze just a beat too long to be casual, but Louis isn't sure which one of them is to blame for that. 

When they break apart, Liam looks like he's got the world in his hands, but his whole world revolves around Zayn's being. "Go out with me tonight." 

"Okay," Zayn agrees immediately. 

Niall continues to commentate, even after they've left, but he slows down when he realizes what remains for him. "From fifth wheel to third wheel, I suppose." 

Louis and Harry pretend to not know what he's talking about. Harry sits closer to Louis at dinner than he normally would, and they keep pretending to not know. 

 

***

 

Almost a month passes. Liam and Zayn have quickly become insufferable when together, somehow turning into a married couple after having been dating officially for only a few weeks. Harry and Louis are slowly becoming just as insufferable, but for an entirely different reason. 

They can't seem to take a hint from each other.

Louis' more obvious about it, complimenting Harry whenever he gets the chance, offering him rides home, constantly badgering him to hang out. Harry's much more subtle about it, hanging onto every word Louis says, helping him through the homework when he needs it, offering to help him babysit his sisters. He does one thing, though, that raises an alarm in everyone's heads. 

He lets Louis meet his parents. 

Harry'd already met Louis' sisters and mum very briefly, only seeing the younger twins more than once. It hadn't seemed like an ordeal. For Louis to meet Harry's family, however, is a bigger deal in Harry's eyes. It was already a surprise that he was allowed to meet Gemma, but according to Zayn, Harry hasn't had anyone new for his parents to meet in forever. 

"It's kind of amazing that you've managed to get so close to him so quickly."

"It's taking ages, though."

"It just feels like that to you. I've never seen Harry warm up to someone so fast." 

Louis feels immensely pressured when he does meet Harry's parents, but he's soon relieved. Harry invites him over for homework (which usually means talking and listening to music while their homework sits untouched in front of them) and his parents just happen to be home at the same time. Harry introduces them calmly and briefly. Anne hugs him, saying she's excited to meet the person Harry's been going on about (Harry tries not to blush too deeply) while Robin shakes his hand and invites him to stay for dinner, if he'd like.

"Your parents seem nice."

"They haven't tried to sell me off or anything, yet, so I suppose I'll keep them." Harry's dry delivery makes Louis giggle. 

They work on papers for a while, chatting as they type, until Louis receives a text from Niall that breaks his focus.

"According to Niall, Zayn and Liam are 'the most impossibly in-love people to have ever existed and it's a wonder that their faces haven't become stuck together.'" 

Harry makes a noise of amusement. "It's his own fault for deciding to hang out with them without other people around. Don't know what he expected." 

"He's not exactly wrong, though, is he?"

"No, he's really not." Harry keeps typing. 

"D'you want to know something funny?"

Harry looks up over his laptop screen. "Sure."

Louis sets his phone down. "Liam's never been with a guy before this." 

Harry looks genuinely surprised. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed." 

"He wasn't even sure he was gay. He just knew for sure he didn't fancy girls. He said he was definitely attracted to guys, to some degree, but he couldn't really see himself being in an actual relationship with one. Then Zayn happened."

Harry's eyes actually start watering a bit. He tries to blink it back. "That's...kind of lovely." He looks down again. "Zayn hasn't been with a guy before either. Well, he hasn't  _dated_ a guy before. He did make out with someone else a while ago, but I don't think it meant much to him other than solidifying the idea that he prefers men."

"Seriously? Who was it?"

Harry goes dead silent, trying to will his face to not betray the answer. 

"Haz?"

"It was no one. I don't even remember their name." His lie is obvious.

Louis sees right through him. The realization makes him hot with jealousy, and with something else that's a little too close to arousal. "Oh my god."

Harry's quick to react. "It didn't even mean anything! Not really. We were both a little high, and he'd just broken up with Perrie. It just kind of happened." 

"Oh my god."

"And the second time-  
  
"There was a  _second_ time?!"

"It was just for fun, Louis! Stop being weird about it."

"I'm not being weird, I swear. I'm just surprised." Very surprised.

"It didn't mean anything between us. Anything that happened was just as friends." 

Louis replays that sentence in his head. "What exactly happened?"

Harry covers his face with his hands. "I can't believe this is happening." 

Louis leans over and pulls his hands down from his face. "I'm not being weird, I promise. I'm just curious. Honest." 

Harry looks at him with doubt in his eyes. "You promise you won't be weird?" 

"I promise. Please?"

Harry sighs and closes his laptop, looking down at his bedspread as he tells Louis about it.

"It was the weekend after he'd broken up with Perrie. He had some weed and we didn't have anything to do, so we thought it would be a good idea to smoke. So we did, and he started talking about how he thought he might be into guys, but he'd never actually  _been_ with one before, so... it seemed like a good idea at the time. I already knew that I was gay and he's pretty hot, so I offered and..." he trails off. Louis stores the mental image of Zayn and Harry making out into the depths of his mind, to go back to later.

"Was he any good?"

"Louis!" He pauses. "Yes, he was." 

"What happened the second time?" Louis' way too curious to be concerned with coming across aggressively.

"We were watching a film in his room. It got boring and we already knew we worked pretty well together, so. He kissed me and one thing led to another."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Louis has never been so conflicted, torn between the heat coiling in his stomach at the idea of Harry doing anything even remotely sexual, and the bright green jealousy flooding his senses. He wants to be the one to kiss Harry. He wants Harry to think they work well together. 

"Louis, I really can't-"

"Okay. You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed." Louis snaps out of it a little, realizing what he's doing. "We don't have to keep talking about it." 

Harry quietly thanks him, and they each get back to their respective papers. After a while, Harry stands to look for something in his desk. Not finding it, he opens his bedroom door, presumably to go find whatever he needs. He stops before he walks out, however, standing still in the doorway for a beat. Louis' holding his breath, dying to see what he does. He pretends to not have noticed, keeps typing gibberish on his laptop, staring at the screen. 

Harry steps up behind Louis, leaning down to say something in his hear. Louis can hear his own heartbeat.

" _I blew him and got off from it."_

Louis nearly has a heart attack, he's so overwhelmed. Harry exits quickly, coming back upstairs after a few minutes with the book he'd been searching for. He acts like nothing is abnormal the rest of the night, so Louis does the same. When he leaves, however, he's a wreck. 

He knew he wanted Harry before tonight, knew that he wanted him very badly, even. Now, though, he knew that he needed him. 

 

***

 

The tension continues to build as time goes by. There's more rugby, more homework, and more conversation. As always, Louis thinks he's getting to know Harry better, and he  _is,_ really, but he still feels so distant from him. There's flirting and whatnot between them, but nothing feels definitive yet. He needs something to push them together. 

It happens, but not at all in the way he wanted. 

Harry gets mad at him. 

 

It happens with no warning. Louis doesn't see it coming at all. 

The rugby team had won another game and decided to celebrate. Niall went for Liam and told Louis he had to do the same because he'd been 'ditching all of them to moon over Harry' lately. Niall's words, not his. Louis agreed to it, inviting Harry along in case he was interested. Harry had decided to join them, for lack of anything else to do on a Friday night. 

Like at Perrie's, Louis loses Harry quickly. He doesn't mean to. He's getting them drinks when someone he hasn't met before, someone's older brother, approaches him and compliments his shirt as a conversation starter. Louis allows him a small chat, only a few minutes, before excusing himself and looking for Harry. What he hadn't seen was Harry noticing him and the guy who'd approached him. He hadn't seen the crushed look in Harry's eyes, or the way his hands started to shake when everything suddenly seemed so much louder around him. 

Louis thinks to check outside first, but Harry isn't there. He heads back inside for a while, figuring he'll come across him at some point. When it's been an hour and he still hasn't seen any trace of Harry, he looks outside again. This time, he's successful.

Whoever's party they're at, it's out of the city. There's a small lake behind the house, with a small dock leading out into the water. Even in the dark, Louis recognizes the curls he'd fallen in love with three months ago. It's too cold for either of them to be outside for very long, honestly, but Louis walks out to sit by Harry anyway.

Harry's laid out on his back, looking up at the sky. He doesn't seem surprised when Louis joins him. Louis lets the quiet remain between them, giving Harry control over what happens next.

What happens is Harry, still staring up at the sky, parts his lips and in a rough voice says, "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions." 

"What's that from?"

"Hamlet." They were supposed to read Hamlet for class. Louis had skipped it, like all of their other reading assignments.

"Hm. I should have read that, probably."

"You probably should have done all of the reading." There's an edge to Harry's voice that isn't there normally.

"Yes, well, I'm passing, aren't I?" 

"Congratulations." Harry delivers this in a completely flat voice. 

"Is something bothering you, Hazza?"

Harry shakes his head, even though he's clearly lying. "No. I'm fine."

"I don't think that's true."

"Well, you're always right, aren't you?" 

"Honestly, what's crawled up your arse? I haven't done anything."

"Exactly." Even Harry's not sure where he's going with this, at this point. He just knows he's upset. He knows he's taking it out on Louis, but it doesn't stop him.

"What are you talking about? What have I done?"

Harry sits up suddenly, turning around to look at Louis with frustration and anger swirling in his eyes. "You haven't read Hamlet. You didn't read Frankenstein. You didn't even read any of the poems, Lou. They weren't even that long." 

"You're this upset because I haven't done the reading assignments? It's just homework. I've been writing the papers and passing the exams just fine."

"I don't care if you're passing. I'd rather you did the reading and failed." 

Louis has no idea how to handle Harry like this. He's never seen him angry. "If I'm managing to pass, the reading can't be  _that_ important." 

This is where Louis fucked up monumentally. 

Harry explodes.

"It  _is_ important. You're missing so much by not doing the reading. You had no idea what was happening in any of it until I told you, or until you looked up a quick summary online. Everything that you know is a bastardization of the actual writing. You're missing the details of the story, and the full characterization as the author intended. You're missing all of the raw emotion, all of the excitement and suspension. You're missing the sentence structure and the specific language that the author chose and you're missing the fucking words." 

"Harry, I-"

Harry stands, cutting Louis off with a low but solid "fuck off, Louis," before walking off in a huff. Louis lets him go, not sure what he could do to make it any better at this moment. 

He gets up and goes inside after a few minutes, figuring he'd given Harry enough of a head start. Niall finds him inside, worriedly telling him that Harry had just left with Zayn. Louis calms Niall, assuring him that Harry's fine, just pissed. When Niall asks why, Louis can't really explain.

He honestly doesn't know why Harry's so mad at him. If it was just about the reading, Harry would have gotten angry much sooner. He thought they'd had a thing building up between them, but now, he just isn't sure where he stands. He doesn't really know what to do about it, besides just waiting for Harry to come around. That doesn't feel like enough, though. He needs to actually  _do_ something. 

He wakes up the next morning with a hangover and an idea.

 

***

 

The rugby meet had been the last before winter holidays. Without school to act as a neutral and mandatory meeting place, Harry and Louis haven't seen each other for a week. It's the longest they've gone without speaking since they were first paired together in class.

Harry isn't mad anymore, but he doesn't know how to reach out to Louis after getting so unreasonably upset with him. He can't even text him without being flooded by embarrassment. He was jealous that night, and he knew it. The issue of the reading assignments was just something that happened to come up when they spoke. It had been his fault, anyway, quoting Hamlet. Who did he think he was? Louis probably thinks he's a twat. A pretentious twat who quotes Shakespeare.

Louis had been letting Harry have some space while he worked on his idea. He figured Harry probably wouldn't be mad anymore, and Louis, although still a little confused, was over any anger he'd felt that night. It was never truly anger on his part, anyway. He was mostly just annoyed that he had no clue what was going on. 

They spend the week apart, checking in on each other through the other boys. Harry's miserable the entire time, wishing he was someone who could easily call Louis and apologize for throwing a fit for no good reason. It doesn't happen, though. He waits to hear from the other boy, even though he starts to seriously doubt the chances of that happening when they officially hit the one week mark.

He knew he felt something  _extra_ for Louis, but it was still a surprise to miss him so much.

 

***

 

The eighth day, something happens. It's a Sunday night, nearing eleven. Harry's parents are in bed. Harry's in his room, poring over a Cornelia Funke novel. The familiarity of it comforts him. He's completely lost in the fantasy world, not even recognizing himself as a separate person anymore.

When his phone rings, he nearly falls out of bed from the scare. He recovers quickly enough, picking it up to look at the name.

Louis. 

He answers quickly. 

"Louis?" 

"Hey, Haz. Listen, this is probably strange, but would you mind if I dropped by for a moment?" 

"Um, sure. That's fine."

"Okay, well, here's the thing. I'm outside your house right now, actually..."

"I'm coming downstairs."

Harry hangs up, quietly exiting his bedroom and making his way downstairs. 

Louis stands outside, waiting patiently. He's been dying to talk to Harry, but he had to finish something first. He did it as quickly as he could, but it still took him most of the week. 

Harry steps outside in only lounge pants and a sweater, shivering from the cold, wrapping his arms around himself. He looks exhausted and solemn, worrying Louis a little, but he's still pretty sure his plan's going to work. 

Louis smiles at Harry, feeling giddy. "Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion." 

Harry's face doesn't move. If anything, he looks even more troubled. Louis tries again.

"In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed." 

Louis doesn't know that Harry's ever looked so conflicted. "You memorized Pride and Prejudice quotes?" His voice is rough, like it's been out of use.

"No. Well, yes, but not just that. I  _read_ Pride and Prejudice."

Harry doesn't seem to know what to say, so Louis keeps talking. "I read all of that, and I did all of the reading from this semester. Even the poems. I printed them out and read them. I even looked up the words I didn't understand."

Harry slowly steps towards Louis, still with the serious face. Louis' suddenly overwhelmingly nervous, has to work hard to repress the urge to word-vomit just to fill the sudden quiet between them.

Harry stops just in front of Louis. Louis' so pent up with nerves, he's ready to bolt, leaving Harry in the cold. He makes himself keep his feet firmly on the ground. 

Louis is anything but prepared for Harry to lean in and press a hungry kiss to his lips. He thinks he's frozen solid with shock, but just as Harry starts to pull back, Louis comes back into himself, leaning up on his toes to wrap his arms around Harry's back. He feels like he's going to pass out, his body confused from the cold of winter and the warmth of Harry and the overall  _Harry_ of Harry. He makes himself pull back just briefly, just enough to make Harry look at him, make sure he's listening. 

"My feelings will not be repressed." He continues the quote he'd began moments earlier. "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

Harry bites his lip, his expression softening a touch. "You're going to make me cry if you keep it up."

Louis grins gleefully. "You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you." 

Harry almost looks like he's in pain. "Come on." He takes Louis' hand and leads him inside. They kick off their shoes and Louis sheds his jacket before following a very persistent Harry up to his room. 

The moment Harry shuts his door, he's on Louis again. 

"Stay the night," he pleads in between kisses. "Please."

"Of course." Louis tugs at Harry's sweater, prompting him to pull it off before they reattach in a kiss. He's already hard just from being so near Harry when he's topless, being allowed to smooth a hand over his toned muscles. 

Harry leads them over to the bed, taking much longer than it would had they been able to stop touching each other for even a second. "Someday," Harry breathes, his hands snaking around Louis' waist, the breadth of them encompassing almost all of the skin from his hips to his ribs, "we're going to do this when my parents aren't sleeping down the hall." 

Louis smiles into Harry's mouth, trying not to get his teeth too involved. "Is that a promise?"

Harry pulls up at Louis' top, but he won't allow them to part until he gets to bite down on Louis' lip, leaving both of them more than a little breathless.

"It's definitely a promise."

Louis pulls at Harry until they're actually on the bed, pushing him back and leaning over him. He's dizzy from it all. He'd expected tonight to go well enough, but he never imagined  _this._ He's finally kissing Harry Styles, and he's definitely kissing back. More than kissing back, even.

Harry's hands act an entirely different way than Louis would have ever anticipated. They stayed around his waist, innocently enough, but when Louis started working his way down Harry's jaw and throat, his hands find their way under Louis' jeans, expanding over his bum. He can't help but to push back into the touch. He doesn't intend for it to happen, but the movement results in him grinding down on the bulge in Harry's pants. Both of them groan. 

Louis detaches his mouth briefly, too overwhelmed by other sensations to focus on Harry's neck. Harry picks up where he left off, pressing kisses to Louis' ear, taking his time moving down to his throat, all while rocking his hips up and using his grip on Louis' bum to push him into it. It's ridiculously hot. Louis would never have guessed this was how Harry was in bed, but he's so glad that he is. 

Louis feels he's not doing enough, running a hand up to Harry's nipple, twisting it. Harry stiffens so suddenly that Louis' almost afraid that he came. Thankfully, he hadn't. 

"I'll come if you keep doing that," Harry warns, licking over Louis' collarbone. 

Louis grins down at him. "Isn't that the point?" 

"In theory, yes, but-" Harry breaks off in a moan when Louis moves down so he can lick over and bite the nipple he'd begun with, moving his hand over to give the other some attention. "But I had a different idea for how it could happen."

Louis looks up, interested. "Oh?"

"I've been dying to get my mouth on you."

Louis' so distracted that his brain skips over the meaning and goes straight for teasing. "Pretty sure your mouth is alrea- oh." Harry stares at him with earnest eyes, while at the same time already tugging at Louis' jeans. 

"As if I'm going to say no to that." 

Harry grins big, flipping them over so Louis' on his back. They wrestle his jeans and pants off together before Harry lays between his thighs, sinking his fingers into them easily. Comfortably.

"You've got pretty thighs. A nice cock," Harry remarks. Louis would be more amused if he were less in danger of cumming before Harry even touches him. Harry seems to pick up on his dilemma, licking up Louis' length slowly, dragging it out until Louis thinks he's going to die, and then taking him in his mouth.

"Mother  _fucker._ "

Harry moves off of him for the smallest second to hush him, quickly taking him back into his mouth, deeper this time. He takes Louis' hand in his own, leading it to his hair, giving him the hint to guide Harry. 

Louis wraps his fingers in Harry's hair enthusiastically, trying not to pull too hard as he controlled the movement of his dick in and out of Harry's mouth. The sight of his lips around his cock is almost enough to push him over, but he's trying to make it last. He pulls harder than he meant to when he starts getting close, pulling hard enough to hurt Harry, whose only visible response is to dig his nails into Louis' thighs like he's clutching on for life. That's what tips him over, in the end. He warns Harry, who lifts off just enough to open his pretty mouth and let Louis come (harder than he thinks he ever has before) on his tongue and over his pretty pink lips. Harry kneels up over him after having swallowed what he could, wiping his face to get the rest off. Louis sits up automatically, reaching for the waist of Harry's pants. 

Harry swats his hand away. "No need."

"What?" Louis looks. It's harder to see in the dark, but there's definitely a wet spot on the front of Harry's pants. The thought is almost enough to make Louis hard again. "God. I didn't think you'd actually get off on it that easy." 

Harry sheds his pants, wiping himself off with them as effectively as he can. "I suppose I'm just a huge cumslut for you."

Louis giggles at that, letting Harry nudge him over so they can both get under the covers.

Harry starts to fall asleep immediately, his curls already finding their way into Louis' mouth. Just before he drifts off, he murmurs, "Can't believe you read all of that."

He knows Harry's already mostly asleep, but Louis still says, "I'd read the dictionary if you asked me to, Haz."

 

***

 

They have lunch with the boys the next day. Niall's extremely delighted to have the group back together.

"Glad to see you two have made up."

Harry looks over at Louis mischievously before reaching up and removing his scarf, revealing a littering of lovebites. Zayn and Liam show little surprise. Niall, however, is very excited.

"Finally! I didn't think you would ever just get over yourselves and admit to each other that you felt the same damn thing. Guess this means I'm officially the fifth wheel, though."

Louis smiles at Harry, squeezing his hand under the table. Harry'd asked Louis how he felt earlier this morning. 

He'd smiled blearily, not very awake yet, but receptive to Harry's arm wound through his own. 

"Completely and perfectly and incandescently happy." 

Harry'd grinned big and leaned closer, pressing his cheek to Louis' bare shoulder. 

"I love, I love, I love you."

**Author's Note:**

> Storyofmythigh on tumblr. xoxoxo


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